Poundworld fight over Frozen merchandise

Women come to blows in a Poundworld over Frozen merchandise: no-one willing to Let It Go

Goodies from the film Frozen went on sale during the opening of a Poundworld store in Merthyr Tydfil in South Wales. Bargain hunting mums snapped up the money boxes, stationery and make-up, which sold out in less than 40 minutes, and two women were said to have come to blows.

The Metro quoted the manager of the Poundworld branch, who said: "Baskets were piled high with Frozen stuff and saw grown women fighting over it." The police were not called.

Wales Online reported that things became heated after over 2,000 people flocked to the new store on its first day. There were eager shoppers queuing for more than an hour before the doors opened. The Frozen merchandise was always intended to be the star attraction, and over the weekend Olaf the Snowman was in store to meet shoppers. It seems, however, that it was much more popular than anyone anticipated.

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Shop fights

It's not the first time that shoppers have come to blows over bargains. Last November in the US saw Black Friday fever take over. The police were called to a number of branches of Walmart after fights broke out over bargains.

In New Jersey one man was pepper sprayed by officers after he would not back down in an argument over a TV. Meanwhile in Rialto two shoppers were arrested in a queue outside a Walmart after an argument over queueing.

There were even incidents in a couple of branches of Asda in the UK last November. A man was arrested in Bristol after arguing with store staff, and a woman in Belfast was left with a suspected broken arm after a stampede.

In 2011 one woman in Los Angeles decided to pepper spray the queue outside a Walmart in order to get her hands on a cheap Nintendo Wii.

There have been a long list of injuries as a result of fights and stampedes during sales. It's a sobering reminder that we all need to develop a sense of perspective when it comes to hunting down a bargain.

There's no discount so great that it's worth risking your safety for, and in any case, there are plenty of ways to get a better deal, without doing anything more risky than starting up your computer and shopping around.